Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Our first snow day of the school year!  I kept telling my co-workers "Just wait until February." The snow day has arrived!  Snow days are good to sit curled under a blanket on the couch reading a good book while you sip your hot tea, coffee, or cappuccino.  As I am trying to get over a cold that began last Friday, this is another good reason to have a snow day!   


Book Title: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Genre: World War II Biography of Louie Zamperini

Thoughts: One of my brother-in-laws gave my mother-in-law Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand) for Christmas.  I picked it up the last day of the visit because all my other books were packed in the car and began reading it.  I loved Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, which made me miss my own childhood horse, and hoped I would like this one too.  I was not disappointed.  Even though I only read a third of it in the hard back and finished it on my Kindle, I was still able to clearly see the black and white pictures in the novel. In both novels Hillenbrand effectively intertwines historical facts with the story line that makes readers want to keep reading.  We do not realize how much of history we are learning through her stories.

Louie is a rambunctious child who finds a love in running star and joins the Army during World War II.  Through his abusive treatment by Mutsuhiro Watanabe, Louie learns what dignity is and has to “find his own path” to peace.    

I was amazed to see how POW were treated in Japan, much like Jews in concentration camps.  I worried that Louie would not make it out alive and dreaded reading about those who did not survive.  War is brutal!  Parts of it reminded me of Hogan’s Heroes, and I could laugh as the men tried to outwit and outsmart their captors, but I also felt compassion and hope no one else has to endure the hardship to survive these brutal conditions. 

For my students who like reading stories of war and survival, this is one to enjoy.